Issue 158
Issue 158 is the one-hundred and fifty-eighth issue of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and the second part of Volume 27: The Whisperer War. It was published on September 7th, 2016. Plot Panicking after witnessing the immense herd of Whisperers, Gabriel abandons his position on the water tower and begins descending down its ladder, begging for help. He suddenly loses his hold on the ladder and falls, only for his right foot to become lodged on one of its railings leaving him stuck and in agonizing pain as his leg snaps. A voice addresses Gabriel's pleas which is revealed to belong to Beta, who "releases" Gabriel by slicing open his abdomen. Beta and the Whispers continue on their journey as Gabriel is devoured near to the bone by the horde. Vincent arrives at the Sanctuary, trying to persuade the Saviors to fight with them. Tara, John, and Sherry disagree before asking him to go, but tell him to leave the horse behind. At Alexandria, Annie, Andrea, and Eugene praise Rick on his speech. Rick asks Eugene what he has been working on, but he tells him he cannot say anything right now. At the Kingdom, Zachary criticizes William over his decision to send their best fighters to help Rick. William dismisses him and, as he leaves, Zachary tells him he will regret it. On the front lines, Negan complains about not having any weapons and teases Dwight about Sherry. Laura approaches and warns that a large group of Whisperers are headed their way, and Dwight wonders why Gabriel did not signal, unaware of his demise. The Militia begin shooting at the roamers, and are soon attacked by the Whisperers. As many of their own are killed, Negan is able to find a weapon. Magna, her crew, and some Kingdom residents arrive to draw some of the roamers away, but Dwight becomes increasingly unsure of the militia's chances of victory as they become increasingly overwhelmed. At the Hilltop, Maggie and Brianna discuss Dante. Carl and Lydia are keeping watch, but Lydia insists if the Whisperers come in full force, it won't matter if they see them coming. Eugene arrives to help speed up ammo production, and Alex helps Aaron out of bed. Pete tells Siddiq he cannot spare any men, and tells him to be safe. At the Sanctuary, Tara tells Sherry that the Whisperers will come for them next. Andrea is on lookout when Rick arrives with lunch for her. He jokes he should have made Negan carry him around for breaking his leg, but Andrea says that would have been too good for him and that dying on the front lines is better. Michonne and Jesus are discussing Aaron on the front lines when they notice the Militia have been surrounded and race in to help. Camouflaged by the herd, Beta stalks Dwight and surprises him. However Beta's attack is unsuccessful as Negan knocks Beta to the ground with his rifle, with the former ordering him to affirm himself so that Negan can kill him. Credits *Rick Grimes *Carl Grimes *Andrea Grimes *Maggie Greene *Michonne Hawthorne *Eugene Porter *Gabriel Stokes *Aaron *Paul Monroe *Brianna *Samuel *Dwight *Negan *Tara *John *Sherry *Alex *Magna *Yumiko *Kelly *Connie *Annie *Siddiq *Hershel Greene *Dante *Lydia *Pete *Vincent *Laura *Beta *William *Zachary *The Whisperers *Donald (Mentioned) Deaths *Gabriel Stokes *Samuel *1 unnamed horse *At least 5 unnamed Militia soldiers *At least 1 unnamed Kingdom soldier *At least 1 unnamed Whisperer Trivia *First mention of Donald. *Last appearance of Gabriel Stokes. *Last appearance of Samuel. *Last appearance of Pete. (Unknown) *This issue marks the first time that Negan uses a gun on panel. While he primarily used it as a club to knock down Beta, he did fire it. *This issue marks Rick Grimes' 150th appearance. References Category:Media and Merchandise